Nassau Police Department Has Important Documents Exposed During Parade

In an increasingly digital age, security threats are often associated with online hackers and breaches of computer systems. However, there are still situations that involve physical product that could put a company at liable risk if they do not have proper protection in place.

During Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day parade, some of the shredded papers thrown as confetti turned out to be filled with the names and Social Security numbers of New York police officers from the Nassau County Police Department.

Newsday reported that some of the papers included legible printings of plainclothes detectives' license plate numbers and even confidential details of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney's motorcade route during last month's debate at Hofstra University.

A Macy's spokesperson said in a statement that the confetti may have been thrown from an open window that overlooked the parade as Macy's uses multicolored confetti and not shredded documents.

"The Nassau County Police Department is very concerned about this situation," police spokesman Inspector Kenneth Lack said in a statement, according to Newsday. "We will be conducting an investigation into this matter as well as reviewing our procedures for the disposing of sensitive documents."

The department added that it's unclear how those documents became part of the parade's celebration purposes. It did not specify what organization is in charge of its document disposal.

Anytime a company does not have control of information - even if it is safely returned - is a breach of security. A company needs to ensure that it has a comprehensive general liability policy in place to account for situations like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Furthermore, technology insurance can account for online data breaches, or if a cyber threat occurs.

Partnering with commercial insurance specialists will benefit companies of all sizes. These professionals will work with an organization to guarantee that a chosen policy accounts for all possible security threats.